Thursday Thought

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

-John Lennon

They Did it AGAIN!!!

Royals 10, Reds 6


The WGLL Royals did it again. They won their 7th game of the season to improve their record to 7-0-1. This one started off a little rough. The Royals let the Reds score 5 runs in the first inning. They came back to score 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the first. Then in the third inning the Reds scored 1 run, but the Royals answered by scoring 3 runs to tie the game up. After that they never looked back. In the bottom of the 4th inning the Royals scored 4 runs. One of the 4 runs was scored by our own #5, CJ!!! CJ took a walk and then was knocked around the bases by his fellow teammates. It was an exciting game and a good win.

GO ROYALS!!!

Wordless Wednesday

She loves animals!

For more Wordless Wednesday go to 5 Minutes for Mom.

Tackle It Tuesday - Windows & Mirrors

Today I decided to tackle a few windows and mirrors around my house. Now that the weather is getting much warmer and the sun is much brighter, the windows look AWFUL!!! I have been putting this off, because...well... it is NOT fun to do.

Last week on one of my shopping trips to Target I picked up a bottle of Windex Lime Action Multi-Surface cleaner. Today I decided to give it a try. Guess what? It works great and smells really good too.

So, if you are up to cleaning a few windows or maybe just mirrors around your house, give this a try. It wasn't too painful for me today. I got 5 windows done, only 6 more to go!!!

For more "Tackle It Tuesday" ideas go here.

Spring at Animal Kingdom

For the last year the kids and I have had Florida Resident Seasonal Annual passes to Walt Disney World. We love to go to the Disney parks. We just can't seem to get enough. Sadly, our passes are going to expire on April 1st. So, we are in the process of taking one last day at each park. This past Sunday was our day at Animal Kingdom.

Spring is definitely in the air at Animal Kingdom. There were baby ducks everywhere. These baby ducks were walking and swimming around right inside the front entrance of the park. There were so many of them that we could not count them all. How much better could life get for a duck than to be born at Disney?!!!

They are so cute and fun to watch. I think we spent a good 20 minutes just watching them swim and play. We almost forgot that there were rides to go on and shows to see.

Our next stop was for a photo-op in front of the "Tree of Life." There are so many great places to take pictures of the tree, that it is hard to pick just one. Caley was playing tour guide on this visit. She put her arm up in the air in every picture to show off what we were taking a picture of. Silly girl!

These flamingos were playing around, with more baby ducks, in a small pond near the "Tree of Life." The animals just seemed so much more active on this visit than they sometimes do. I think they were just loving the nice spring weather.

When we got to the back of the park we decided to take the train ride out to "Conservation Station." We had a really crazy conductor telling us about the park on the way out to the station. He was telling us about some of the celebrities that had recently visited Animal Kingdom. Since January he had seen Tom Cruise and George Hamilton. The only celebrities that we saw on this particular day were Pocahontas and Jiminy Cricket.

Caley loves Pocahontas. She loved being able to get her autograph and take a couple of pictures. It was pretty quite when we were there, so the girls got to talk to Pocahontas for a few minutes. Very cool.

After our visit to "Conservation Station," we went on the "Kilimanjaro Safari." Again the animals were very active. The giraffes were standing so close to the road that you could almost reach out and pet them.

We ended our day with a ride on "Tricera Top Spin," a visit to "Finding Nemo-The Musical," and we couldn't leave the park without seeing "The Festival of the Lion King," one last time. We can't wait to go back. When we do it will all be fresh and new to us again!!!

On a Streak!

The WGLL Royals won another one to make their record 6 wins,0 losses, and 1 tie. Today we played the Rangers. Another good game with lots of excitement, lots of hits, some fielding errors, some crazy moments, some funny moments, and a great win.

Final score...

Royals 14, Rangers 7

Thursday Thought

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul has remained unawakened." - Anatole France

Hooray For CJ!

Tonight was game six for the WGLL Royals, and what a game it was! The Royals started off a little bit sluggish but in the bottom of the 1st inning their bats came alive. After the first inning the game was a real back and forth slug fest. Then, in the bottom of the 4th inning CJ got up for his second at bat. CJ got a nice little hit up the first base line. He ran hard, the first baseman bobbled the ball, and CJ was safe at first. His hit brought in the runner that was on 3rd! CJ's first RBI!!! The next batter up got a walk, putting CJ on 2nd base. The next batter got a nice hit, deep into center field, bringing CJ home to score his first REAL run!!! What an exciting night.

Final Score

Royals 14, Pirates 8

Wordless Wednesday

Three little Mocking Birds, soon to be hatched in our very own front yard!

For more Wordless Wednesday go to 5 Minutes For Mom.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

"Cead Mille Failte"

A hundred thousand welcomes

For lots of fun St. Patrick's Day activities and trivia go to Kaboose.com

Space Shuttle Launch

Sunday night was the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. Our kids had not had a chance to see a shuttle launch up close yet (we see them from our backyard, but it just does not have the same effect as being within a few miles of the launch pad). So, we packed a picnic dinner and headed for the coast. We got a great spot to see the launch. We were in Titusville at the intersection of US 1 and Hwy. 50 right along the Banana River. The launch pad was directly across the river from us.

Here are a few pictures from our experience.

Three crazy kids sitting on top of the truck, waiting for the launch.

They had a great time. We had about 3 hours to kill before the launch, so they ran around,

snacked, and explored the area.

Finally, the moment arrived!


The launch happened just before sunset. It was a clear sky and perfect weather.The whole crowd clapped and cheered as the shuttle went up. It really leaves a lump in your throat.

The shuttle disappearing into the sky. By this time you can hear the rumble of the shuttle going up into space.It was a spectacular sight.

Everyone had a great time and thought it was an "Awesome" sight!!!

Show and Tell Saturdays - Beloved Pet

Well, I'm a little bit late getting this one posted. It was a busy day, but I just couldn't pass up an opportunity to show off our "beloved pet." Shelby is a 12 year old Shetland Sheepdog. She will be 13 on April 22nd, yep Earth Day. How fitting for a dog.

Shelby got her name from Julia Roberts character in "Steel Magnolia's," one of my all time favorite movies. The name fits her in so many ways. She is kind and gentle just like her name sake. Also the "Shelby" in the movie proclaimed PINK to be her signature color. Pink is also our Shelby's favorite color. She is a girl so of course she looks good in pink, but mostly it is her favorite color because she is a cancer survivor.

Shelby was diagnosed with lympho-sarcoma 4 years ag0. She was given less than 2 weeks to live if we did not treat her with chemotherapy asap. Of course we decided to go ahead with the chemo on the hope that it would give us maybe 2 more years with her. Well, here we are 4 years later and she is still in remission!!!

Shelby is the perfect family dog. Not too big, not too small, very loyal, and would never hurt anyone. She is great with the kids and is super easy to have around. We would not trade her for any other dog.

For more Show and Tell Saturdays go to Homesteaders Heart.

Welcome!

Welcome to the family!

Yesterday we got the good news that a new baby boy was added to our family.

Congratulations to my sister-in-law Sarah, my brother Jay, and my nephew Devan on the newest addition to their family!!!

Sarah and new baby Owen.

Super proud big brother Devan, grandma Carol, and baby Owen.

Could Devan's smile be any bigger!?

Thursday Thought

It's a good thing we don't get all the government we pay for." - Will Rogers

Or do we?

The way things are going these days we are going to get all the government we pay for and then some.

Isn't it amazing that in the days of Will Rogers they were fighting against the same threat of an over sized government that we are fighting against today?

Everything old is new.

Little League Update

I just realized that I haven't been very good about blogging the results of this season's baseball games.

This season CJ is on the WGLL Minor League Royals. They are off to a great start with 3 wins and 1 tie. We have a pretty good team and have played some close games. We also seem to be the team that loves to play the longest. Every game has ended because the game took the full two hours that is allowed in Little League.

Here are our stats so far this season:

Game 1: Royals 12 - Reds 9

Game 2: Royals 4 - Marlins 2

Game 3: Royals 9 - Red Sox 9

Game 4: Royals 5 - Braves 3

Our next game is this Saturday at 11:00 am.

Go Royal's!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Cruising the Disney Jungle!
For more Wordless Wednesday go to 5 Minutes For Mom.

Tackle It Tuesday

My second favorite household chore is ironing.

My first being hitting my head on the top bunk until I faint. - Erma Bombeck

I'm working on getting caught up on all of the errands and housework that have gotten out of control while we have been going to little league games, cub scout meetings, doing home improvement projects, and taking a day to go to theme parks.

I hope to have more time for blogging tonight.

Happy Tuesday.

For more Tackle It projects go to 5 Minutes For Mom.

He Did It!!!

CJ got his first hit in a game today!!!

It was a long time coming, but he stuck with it and today was his day.

CJ started playing Little League baseball last fall. He had quite a bit of ground to make up since he had never played baseball before.

I am very proud of him for sticking with it and working hard.

He has had two really good coaches who have worked with him and given him all kinds of encouragement.

One of the best parts of today was that CJ's coach from last fall was the opposing coach today. So, he got to see CJ get his first hit too.

It was a great game.

Both teams played really good and the final score was...

Royals 9, Red Sox 9
It was another great day for baseball!!!

Friday Funnies!!!

Friday Funnies? I thought that they would be funny, but after reading these quotes from Dr. Seuss I found them more prophetic than funny. But, I still decided to post them as Friday Funnies in honor of his birthday this week. I hope you enjoy these "funny" and inspiring quotes from Dr. Seuss.


"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple."

"I meant what I said and I said what I meant."


"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn the more places you'll go."


"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one."

For more Friday Funnies go here

Kindergarten Field Trip

Today was field trip day for the Pre-K and Kindergarten classes at my kids school. Our destination was to the Orlando Repertory Theatre to see "If You Give A Pig A Party."

The production is based on the book by the same name, which was written by Laura Numeroff. My girl's love this book series, so it was the perfect production for us to see. It was so cute. They did a great job of bringing the story to life. The set looked just like a page out of one of the books. The actors did a great job of portraying themselves as illustrated characters out of a book. It was a very fun production and I can't wait to go back again. Now, we have a fun new thing to do when the kids are out of school this summer.

My girls, with few of their "girls" from school.

What a cute group!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Only during the week of Dr. Suess' birthday,

do Kindergartner's come out to school looking like this!!! :-)

A Great Giveaway!

Tip Junkie has a great giveaway posted on her blog.

She is giving away two really nice prizes;

1. A Lisa Leonard Designs, Itty Bitty Hearts necklace. A $48 value.

2. A Blog makeover by Emily June. A $50 - 60 value.

Both prizes are really nice and I would love to win either one.

To enter the giveaway, head over to Tip Junkie.

And good luck!!!

Tackle It Tuesday - Playroom

Since Christmas I have been trying to get time to go room by room through my house and do some deep cleaning. All of the corners were loaded with dust, crumbs and since we live in Florida, dead bugs. I cannot remember the last time that I was able to get into each room to dust and clean everything. I was starting to gross myself out just thinking about it.

Today I actually had a free morning and early afternoon, so I decided it was time to get the girls bedroom and playroom done. I wiped down all of the furniture, walls, and windows. I vacuumed under all of the furniture, and I went through all of their stuff to see what I could find that we did not need to keep anymore. It felt great to finally get two rooms done.

Surprisingly I did not find too many toys and things that needed to be taken out of the house. It was such a disorganized mess in the playroom that I thought I would find lots of stuff to sell or donate. All that it really needed was just to be re-organized.

Here is the before picture of the playroom. It doesn't look too bad in the picture. It felt a lot worse to me than it looks. The room was just in desperate need of a good wipe down and re-organization.

Here is the room after. The shelf has been cleaned and re-organized. The spots on the carpet have been wiped off. Some of the toys that were sitting on the floor now have a home on the shelf. All of the toys on the shelf were sorted through and put back in their proper place.

It feels great to finally get two rooms done. Now I just have to work on the rest of the rooms!!!

For more Tackle It Tuesday projects go here

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Today is Dr. Seuss' Birthday!

I almost forgot until the girls came out of school dressed like this.

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday here is one of my favorite quotes...

"Today you are you, that is truer than true.

There is no one alive who is youer than you."

God & Country

God & Country is a religious awards program, offered by the P.R.A.Y organization. This program helps young people to develop a deeper relationship with God and to understand how God is active in their lives and in the world around them. The God & Country series offers 4 separate courses for school age children. The classes include God & Me for grades 1 - 3, God & Family for grades 4 - 5, God & Church for grades 6 - 8, and God & Life for grades 9 - 12.

Our Cub Scout Pack, Pack 220, is very proud of offer this program to all of our scouts and any siblings who are involved in Girl Scouts. Six of the boys in my Webelos Den recently completed the God & Family class.

The class runs for 7 weeks. During the 7 weeks the kids learn how their families can grow together in God's love. The class compares family to pizza. A very interesting way to break down the family structure.

In week one the kids learn that all families need a crust or foundation. The foundation is built on God and God's love. All of the kids choose a favorite bible verse to write on their crust. They also drew a symbol in the center of the pizza to represent Jesus.

In week two the kids learned that the sauce on the pizza represents their family and spiritual heritage. They added strips of red and orange construction paper to the pizza to represent the sauce. On the strips they wrote the names of people who had helped them grow in their Christian faith.

Week three had them add toppings to the pizza. The toppings represent the talents, gifts, and strengths that we get from our families.

Cheese was the next ingredient that was added in week 4. The cheese represents rules that we all need to follow. The boys wrote the Ten Commandments on their strips of "cheese." The melting of the cheese tells the kids that God will always love them even though they may occationally break rules or make mistakes.

In week 5 the kids baked their pizzas. The baking represents that being a member of a family and having God in our family helps us when things are tough. The kids made paper oven mitts to represent the protection that God gives us to get through the tough times.

Finally in week six the kids shared the pizza. Their assignment for the week was to decorate their pizza boxes, make coupons for their pizza and think of ways that they could share their pizzas with others. The lesson learned... How can I share the word of God with others?

This is a great series. I really enjoyed sitting in on the class and working through the booklet with CJ. I highly recommend this series of classes to any scouting organization that would like to promote "duty to God" to their scouts.

For more information about the P.R.A.Y organization go to http://www.praypub.org/.

A Great Day for Baseball

The 2009 Winter Garden Little League season kicked off this weekend in grand style. Friday night was the season opener celebration. All of the teams gathered on Field #3 wearing their new jerseys and hats. The Winter Garden PD brought out a few of their motorcycles to greet the players. The opening ceremony included the National Anthem, the Little League Pledge, introductions of a few key people, and introductions of all the coaches and their teams. The first pitch of the season was thrown out by the Winter Garden Chief of Police.



After the opening ceremony the kids were invited to play on all of the bounce houses and slides that the league had set up on Field #2. There was also food, raffles, and info booths set up around the Little League field.

When Saturday morning came around it was time to "play ball." CJ's first game started at 1:00 pm. The Royals played the Reds in their opening game. CJ had his first at bat of the season in the top of the 2nd inning. He had a couple of good swings, but ended up taking a walk.

Here is CJ on first base. He looks like a real ball player. He was excited to get on base. Unfortunately he got on with 2 outs and the player after him struck out, so back to the dugout he went.

In his second at bat CJ took another walk. Once again he got on with two outs and the player after him was thrown out at first. Oh well, there is another game on Tuesday. Maybe he will get to run a few more bases then.

The game ended after two hours with the Royals winning 12 - 9 over the Reds. All-in-all a great way to start the season. It was a perfect day for baseball. We had temperatures in the high 70's and lots of sun. Everyone had a great time. We got to see a lot of friends and family at the field and watch a pretty exciting game. Caley and Caitlyn had a good time watching CJ too.